runway77

Thanks John for your tip to try to resolve the Tegmine. I did try it yesterday with my 6 inch f/5 Newtonian and it was definitely a challenge to resolve the close pair. It could be "resolved" similarly like on the examples the Nik271 posted but I was unable to see a clear separation between these two. I used a T6 5mm Nagler eyepiece. A very interesting triple though. 

I had the 4mm TOE, was not very impressed as well and I sold it. I do have the 4mm Delite now but it's used only rarely due to atmospheric conditions. Such eyepiece usually requires a tracking mount as well.

None of them, get the 18.2mm, the best one  would nicely fill the gap between your 13 and 32mm eyepieces as well.

I think that the stars (other than the Sun) cannot actually be resolved into discs, from such distances they are for us always only points of light. But a nice report.

I would like to note that an eyepiece is only one part of the optical train. I would be a bit cautious with statements like an eyepiece is horrible, etc. I do have all the nirvana's and use them with a properly collimated newtonian with a coma corrector. I find the views outstanding for the price. Many factors can affect a perceived view, an eyepiece is really only one of them. 

Good eyepieces for the price. I did experience some sagittal astigmatism at the edges especially noticeable when observing the Double Cluster with the 18mm and a dobsonian telescope. However, it might work better with your configuration. I don't recommend the 5mm one, the view was simply not good.

I am using the APM MS 20x80 ED binos, they are very nice and the image is excellent. You will definitely need a tripod to use them though. 

just buy a 20x80 bino so you won't have to think how the view would be with a 20x80 😉

I am trying to use a blower only to clean my eyepieces. I would clean them with the Baader Optical Wonder only when absolutely necessary. My approach was to sell all eyepieces with a small eye relief as well.

Yes it is possible. I have done it with this component: https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p388

I needed then to add a small additional counterweight onto the mount to properly balance my telescope because the center of gravity was a bit shifted.

The mount on the picture is EQ3-1, buy I was able to use it with an EQ2 as well. 

I have managed to see it quite well with my Skywatcher 130p Newtonian and Takahashi TOE 4mm eyepiece. I do have a rear fan attached to this telescope.

35 minutes ago, Astro Noodles said:

So what do you think we should do about it ?

Let's start at least locally. Tell it to other people. Do not buy these products. Write someone in your local newspaper. Tell your politician. Small things can sometimes trigger big changes for the better. It is an utter nonsense that a single corporation is creating a  monopoly in LEO orbit with tens of thousands of satellites and everyone is trying to do the same. As if people are not able to see where this ends. Everything driven by greed and ego.

Look at this: https://www.heavens-above.com/StarLink.aspx?lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=UCT

And that is only Starlink and with current count of 1800 satellites. They want 42 000!

This has to stop. Now. what is happening is unprecedented and very wrong on so many levels. This is a private corporation and for their own private profit they are destroying the science of astronomy and ruining the night sky. Not to say we don't know what environmental impact have tens of thousands of satellites, beaming high energy signal, on the biosphere. this is not a game.

an old topic but I wanted to add that I have just observed the Iota Cas with a 130p reflector and a 4mm Takahashi TOE eyepiece. Beautiful triple, all the components can relatively easily be resolved. However, the scope definitely required a cool down and steady air.

1 hour ago, JoshHopk said:

Another Rosette  

Didn't have as long as I would of liked thanks to the clouds, (seems to be a recurring event nowadays!), needs more data to get rid of that noise. Only PNGs so not Hubble quality  
I tried out StarNet++ for the starless image; it seems to struggle with the diffraction spikes a bit, but I quite like the result.

Imaging - SW130PDS, Stock Canon EOS 100D. 40x 3mins @ISO400 (2hrs)
Guiding - SW 9x50 Finder, ASI224MC
Mount - HEQ5 Pro (Rowan Mod)
Other - SW 0.9x CC
Stacked in DSS and processed in Photoshop

beautiful image and colors.

Private corporations for their own private profit are destroying the science of astronomy and the night sky right before our own eyes. According to law of the jungle. Without any proper worldwide discussion. We don't even know what other environmental negative effects do these satellites have on the biosphere. I am wondering where this world is going..

don't buy this over-expensive stuff. They have increased the prices because some people are apparently willing to pay so much.

Teleskop express in Germany offers mirror recoating services as well: https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p5080_Neuverspiegelung-Ihres-Hauptspiegels-oder-Fangspiegels---97--.html

1 hour ago, Gfamily said:

You can disable the NR on the A5000 by using Continuous Bracketing (0.3 EV) Mode. None of the bracketing modes uses NR, and continuous bracketing allows the use of Bulb exposures.

 

There are multiple noise reduction steps in the Sony Alpha cameras. One of them is the long exposure noise reduction in the bulb mode. This can be disabled with the continuous bracketing mode as you write. For advanced users, one can even disable it permanently using a telnet command: https://github.com/ma1co/OpenMemories-Tweak/issues/169

However, this is not the kind of noise reduction I meant. The star eater spatial filtering applied in the bulb mode is discussed here: https://petapixel.com/2017/05/04/star-eater-issue-no-longer-recommend-sony-cameras-astrophotography/.

This noise reduction cannot be disabled. There are even petitions against it but Sony refuses to enable the users to disable it. I tested this with my Sony A5000 camera, I could clearly observe this effect. 30 second exposures were not affected. However, looking at Astrobin, I can see that there are many amazing photos taken with this camera: https://www.astrobin.com/search/?q=Sony A6000. So I would definitely at least try it. For me, the biggest problems with this camera were the initial focusing, as there is no live view support in Sony a5000 and the star eater issue.

I used Sony a5000 camera for a while. I used the Imaging Edge software to capture the photos. Overall, it was a very lightweight camera. The biggest limitation of this camera is that in bulb mode (even when shooting RAW) you cannot deactivate a noise reduction algorithm which tends to remove faint stars (known as Star Eater).  This is the case with the Sony a6000 as well. That was for me unfortunately a deal breaker. However, take a look at some photos at astrobin, there are many amazing photos taken with the Sony a6000 camera. I am now using Canon m200 with the Backyard EOS Software and I am very happy with it.

40 minutes ago, raf2020 said:

Hello Guys,

I am an absolute beginner as I have started with astrophotography less than one month ago. I am not sure if these kind of questions are typical only for newbies or this is something common. So astrophotography is about to show objects in clear way, possibly closest to how actually those objects look like or this is an art to attract audiences so casual interpretation is allowed (of course within the limits of good taste)? To be honest before I have started I was sure this is more about showing objects the way they look like but apparently I was wrong. 

From the other hand how we can be sure object (especially in terms of colours) really look like if ever scope/lens have different colour sensitivity? I will give you an example. As far as I know Rosette nebula is made of hydrogen, maybe with some trixogen in the middle so first thoughts that you have is that is should be red'ish and blue'ish inside what most of the photos of this object confirms. But I see a lot of adaptations where it is whole blue, rusty brown or whatever. Same with Orion nebula. Nowadays I see a lot of adaptations where it has external layers of nebulosity... WHITE. And I would say those photos collect the most of recognition.

My apologies for chaotic way of explaining my doubts but I really wonder what is your opinion when it comes to natural photos, maybe with a bit bumped colours, contrast etc. or stunning, overedited "arts"? Probably truth is somewhere in the middle, in the sweet spot but my concerns is that those overedited/unnatural photos are a way more popular. 

take a look at some of the articles at https://clarkvision.com/articles/do_you_need_a_modified_camera_for_astrophotography/

it's from the coma corrector to the sensor. In my case, with my scope, I needed 56,5mm to achieve optimal coma correction.

I too had a double diffraction spike problem with my 150 PDS. After I centered the secondary mirror under the focuser with the help of a concentre eyepiece and after I collimated the scope the problem was resolved. Additionally, I needed to buy a skywatcher twist lock adapter to ensure that my laser collimator is centered in the focuser. 

44 minutes ago, Waldemar said:

Don't you think that a great tool like this will work better if it is perfectly centered in the receptacle?
A nosepiece like the SCA adapter of Hotech would do the job a lot better then the screws in a standard holder to get this nice tool centered properly.

you are right, I do have a skywatcher twistlock adapter and I bought a 1.25 inch version of this concenter tool. The twistlock adapter seems to properly center my laser collimator in the focuser. The red dot ends on the same spot after I lock the adapter. I hope this would be the case with the concenter eyepiece as well. If this won't work, I will take a look at the sca hotech adapter.

I can observe some double spikes with my 150PDS as well. I have not yet identified what the problem could be. I suspect that my secondary mirror is not aligned well under the focuser. I have done the alignment using a collimation cap but that may not be enough for astrophotography. Have you tried to center the secondary mirror under the focuser? I have just bought this tool but I can't say whether it helps, it's been constantly cloudy here recently.